a. Field of Invention
This invention discloses a method and device for determining the exact position of an object within a field of view, for the operation of robots.
b. Description of the Prior Art
There is currently a strong impetus to design and manufacture robots capable of complex manipulations of various objects. A prime requisite for such a robot is accurate information regarding the exact position of the object being manipulated within a reference frame because without this information the robot cannot perform its designated tasks. Encoder systems integral with the robot mechanisms and various imaging devices such as video cameras have been used for this purpose. Both approaches have limitations. For example, the encoder approach is subject to errors due to loading of the robot structure. Also, in video approaches frequently there is a trade-off between the available field of view and resolution. Thus, for example, a video camera with a capability to produce 512.times.512 pixels and a resolution of 0.002" has a one inch x one inch field of view.